Monsters, Inc:Retold
by RC2012
Summary: Sequel to Something Special. Randall Boggs used to have an ordinary life before he accidently let a human child into the monster world. Now he must get the kid home while avoiding the CDA and the ones after the kid.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay here it is, the sequel to Something Special. If you haven't read Something Special, you may want to read it before you start reading this fic. Enjoy!**

Monsters, Inc.: Retold

Chapter 1-An Ordinary Day for Randall Boggs

The day started out as usual for Randall Boggs. His alarm clock woke him up at six-thirty and he put his glasses on. He had breakfast, brushed his teeth, showered, and headed out the door. Randall stepped outside the apartment complex. He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and exhaled. It was a beautiful day in Monstropolis and the sun was shining.

Just then a paperboy rode by on his bike and threw a newspaper up into the air. It landed on the doorstep and in front of Randall's feet.

"Morning, Mr. Boggs!" The boy cried out.

"Morning to you too, George!" Randall said. He bent down to pick up the paper and walked down the steps to his car, which was purple just like him. He looked at the paper and saw the headline: Power Shortage Continues to Get Worse!

Randall was well aware of the scream shortage. It had been going on for the past few years. He looked at his car and decided that he would walk to work instead.

_I need the exercise anyway._ He thought. So he walked to work.

Randall entered Monsters, Inc. and said hello to Celia Mae and a few other co-workers. Randall walked into the men's locker room and placed his bag in his locker. It contained his apartment keys, work ID, and wallet.

Then Randall heard Mike and Sulley's voices enter the locker room. A mischievous smile appeared on Randall's face. Randall put his glasses in his locker and shut the locker door. He came over to where Mike's locker was and placed his back to the lockers while standing on two of his four feet. Then he blended in with the lockers.

Mike and Sulley came in.

"Thanks for getting the reservations, Sull."

"Anytime, Mike."

Then Sulley sat down on a bench and Mike came over to his locker. He opened the locker door, but then it shut itself. Mike tried again, but the door ended up being shut again.

"What the…?"

Then Randall reappeared and surprised him. "Wazowski!"

Mike jumped. He looked a bit scared, but then he started to laugh.

"Gotcha that time, Mike." Randall said with a friendly chuckle.

"You certainly did." Mike said. He and Randall both laughed.

Sulley smiled and shook his head.

Mike smiled at his lizard friend. "So, you ready for tonight?"

Randall smiled. "You bet I am."

Tonight Mike, Randall, and Sulley were tripling dating. Mike would be bringing Celia, of course. Randall and Sulley would be bringing dates of their own as well.

Suddenly an insect-like monster jumped out from behind a corner and roared. Mike jumped and screamed.

The insect monster laughed.

Randall's eyes narrowed at him.

"How about you knock it off for once, José?"

José was a brown-colored insect monster with four pink eyes, four arms, and two legs. He bullied Randall when they were both kids and attended the same college as the lizard.

José stopped laughing and turned to Randall.

"What? Oh so it's funny when you do it, but not if someone else does?"

"At least he doesn't act like a jerk when he does it." Mike replied. "And I wasn't scared, for your information. I have… allergies." Mike pretended to cough.

José rolled his eyes. "Sure you do." Then he smiled at Randall.

"I can feel it, today's the day. The day I finally surpass you and Sullivan and prove that I'm the best."

Randall rolled his eyes. "Oh my god. Is this still about the Scare Games? It was just a stupid competition, let it go already."

José looked angry. "I know that Sullivan rigged wazowski's simulator during the final round! I wouldn't be surprised if your simulator had been rigged too."

"Oh please, I beat you fair and square. You just won't accept it." Randall smirked.

José snorted. "Yeah right, Randy."

"Randall, call me Randall. Only my friends can call me Randy." Although Randall preferred to be called by his real name, he did let his friends call him by his nickname some of the time.

"Whatever floats your boat, Randy." José smiled wickedly and left.

Mike mimicked him. "What a creep. Someday Randall, I'm gonna… really let you teach that guy a lesson."

Randall took his glasses out of the locker and put them back on.

"Be happy to." He said. Then he shut the locker door.

* * *

Randall, Mike, and Sulley entered the floor and got to their stations.

"Morning, sir." Said Jeff Fungus, Randall's assistant.

"Morning, Fungus." Randall smiled. He set his glasses down on the desk.

José and his assistant Chip Jones, a blobby pink monster, were stationed next to Randall and Sulley.

"Hey Randall, may the best monster win." Sulley said holding out his paw to the lizard.

Randall smiled and shook Sulley's paw. "May the best monster win." He repeated.

José looked away and rolled his eyes in disgust.

"We are on in seven, six, five," The announcer of the floor spoke.

"Get ready to kiss being top scarer good-bye, Sullivan." José said. However, he was mostly hoping to beat Randall.

"Four, three, two, one!"

The alarm went off and everybody got busy.

Doors were lifted down into and up out of stations. Scream cans were getting filled up to the top and being taken away by can-wranglers.

Just then Mr. Waternoose, a crab like monster with five eyes and six legs, came onto the floor. He was the CEO of Monsters, Inc.

"So, what's the damage so far?" He asked the announcer of the floor.

"We might actually make our quota, sir."

"First time in a month." Waternoose mumbled.

Just then José came out of a door.

"Sir, look!" Chip pointed up at the scoreboard. José's score surpassed Randall's and he was moved up to number two.

José smiled. "Ha, you see that? I am better than Boggs!" He said to everyone else on the floor.

Then José turned to see the door Randall was in, hoping to catch the lizard and gloat. But just then José looked shocked. Fungus was taking scream cans out and putting more back into the door station like there was no tomorrow. Then Randall stepped out and high-fived Fungus. He turned to see José and smiled.

"Sleepover." He explained. Then Randall's score became higher than José's and he was moved back to second place. José was back at third.

José looked angrily at his assistant. "Get me another door or I'm gonna put you through the shredder!"

Some monsters came over and congratulated Randall and Sulley.

"Well done boys." Waternoose said.

Sulley put his arm around Randall and smiled. "Oh you know sir; we're just making sure there's enough scream to go around. Right Randall?"

"You bet." Randall smiled.

All this niceness made José feel like he wanted to throw up. But he just turned away and went back to work.

* * *

The day progressed on. Scarers were going in and out of doors. Scare assistants were setting up the doors and doing paperwork.

José came out of a door and held a child's sock in his hand, keeping it hidden in his hand. He never really believed that human children were toxic. He looked around. As fun as it was for him to scare human kids, work did feel dull at times. So José did things to amuse himself. Down the floor he saw that George Sanderson was coming out of a door. Jose smiled wickedly and walked over to George just as Randall stepped out of a door.

"Hey George, buddy!" José came over to George.

"Oh, hi José." George smiled.

"Hey man you're doing great. Good job." Then José gave George a pat on the back and planted the sock on his back. And Randall saw the whole thing.

Then George walked down the floor feeling good about himself. He felt that he was on a roll.

_This should be entertaining._ José thought as he smiled wickedly.

Charlie, George's assistant, saw the sock on George's back and screamed. "23-19!"

Then someone pulled an alarm and in moments the CDA entered the factory and ran over to George.

"Not the CDA." Waternoose said.

The CDA came over to George and removed the sock from him and disposed of it.

"Oh, thank you…" Before George could finish his sentence, the CDA set up a curtain around him, shaved all his fur off, bathed him, and put down the curtain.

George stood there looking embarrassed. One of the CDA officers removed a bandage from George's back. George screamed in pain.

Jose began to chuckle silently to himself. Randall quickly came up behind him.

"I saw that." He snarled.

José turned to Randall and smiled. "I don't know what you're talking about, Randy" He said. Then the insect monster walked away.

* * *

"José did that!" Fungus gasped. It was during one of their coffee breaks when Randall told his assistant what he saw.

"Yeah, that bastard did it."

"You gonna tell Waternoose?" Fungus asked and then took a sip of his coffee.

"Like he'd believe me. Jose's always careful. He does these things so carefully that he never gets caught. God, I just wish that they'd fire him already." Randall complained.

"That may happen, there's reports that the company will start laying off workers. Because of the scream shortage. It'll get worse if this problem keeps up." Fungus pointed out.

"Maybe they'll decide to lay José off first."

Fungus went back to his Randall's station. Waternoose came up to the counter of the break room and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"If this shortage and CDA callings keep up, the factory will be closed down." He looked at Randall and sighed. "I can't lose this company; it's been in my family for three generations."

"Don't worry sir; you'll get us through this."

"Tell that to the board of directors." Waternoose said. Then he smiled and looked at Randall.

"Oh by the way Randall, I was wondering if you could help me out with something?"

"What is it?"

"How would you like to do a scare demonstration for the new recruits? You know, show them what it takes to be a great scarer. Because the recruits," Waternoose struggled with a word to describe the recruits. "They, oh god they stink."

Randall looked a little uncertain and used his stirring stick to stir his coffee. "I don't know, wouldn't you rather have Sullivan do the demonstration? He is the top scarer here at Monsters, Inc. after all"

"Actually when I asked him, he said that it would be better if you did the demonstration. Since your ability to turn invisible scares children pretty good. After all, what's scarier than something you can't see?"

Randall chuckled to himself.

Sullivan. He was always doing good things for others.

"Alright, I'll do it. When's the demonstration?"

"Just stop by the simulator room after lunch tomorrow." Waternoose then turned to Randall and the lizard got another mischievous look on his face. He then disappeared.

Waternoose pointed his finger up into the air. "And show them what it means to be a top scarer! Right Randall? Randall?"

Waternoose turned around and saw that Randall was gone.

He looked around.

"Randall?"

Then Randall reappeared on the ceiling. He swung down with his back feet sticking to the ceiling and ROARED!

Waternoose jumped up in fright, but when he saw that it was Randall, he laughed. Randall got back down on the floor and laughed too. Waternoose came over to Randall and put his arm around him.

"That's the scaring spirit, Randall!" Waternoose beamed.

**Done! So glad that I got the first chapter done. Please do review and feel free to put what you think will happen next and any other thoughts (involved with this fic) in your reviews. What do you think of the fic so far? Happy MLKJ day!**

**~RC**


	2. Chapter 2

Monsters, Inc.: Retold

Chapter 2-Breach

It was five o'clock and the factory was starting to close.

"Alright everyone, you know the drill. All doors must be returned, no exceptions!" The announcer of the floor said.

All doors were sent back to the door vault and everyone left the floor.

"Wow Randall, I've never seen anything like you today. You were on fire." Fungus said as he and Randall were walking down the hall.

"What can I say? I just get better and better."

"Do you think Sullivan's gonna break the record first or you?"

"I don't care. It's all friendly competition between me and Sullivan anyway."

"So what you gonna do tonight?" Fungus asked.

"I'm triple dating with Wazowski and Sullivan. Wazowski's bringing Celia and Sullivan's bringing some girl named Sophie." Randall answered.

"Who's your date?"

"Vanessie of course." Randall said with a smile.

Vanessa Jazmine Loch was the daughter of Nessie and Randall's girlfriend. She preferred to be called "Vanessie" by her friends. She had light-aqua skin with black spots all over her body and she had brown eyes. Her underbelly was a pale green color. She had flipper-ears and her forearms and feet were stained black. Her hair was cut short and dyed the color of red velvet, as well as her mane. And Randall loved her deeply. He thought that she was the most beautiful monster he had ever seen.

Randall first met Vanessie in his sophomore year at Monsters University. At the time she was working at the Hidden City Café, where Randall came over to study often, serving coffee and food to people. Eventually they became good friends and Randall came over to talk to her quite a lot. He would have coffee with Vanessie at the café when she was on her breaks. Around the beginning of his junior year, Randall finally summoned enough courage to ask Vanessie out on a date, to which she said yes. Randall was surprised, thinking that Vanessie would've turned him down a few times before agreeing to go out with him. So they went out on a date and had a good time. They grew closer and closer to each other as Randall's school year progressed. By the time his junior year was over, Randall and Vanessie were officially boyfriend and girlfriend.

"Where are you guys going tonight?" Fungus asked.

"Harryhausen's." Randall answered. That he looked down at the floor with a bit of a concerned look. "You know Fungus; I really love Vanessie, a lot. But sometimes, I wonder why she wants be with me."

"Why's that?" Fungus asked.

"Because I'm a scarer, and she believes that it's wrong to scare human children. So I kinda wonder why she would want to be with me. " Randall said.

Fungus smiled. "I'm sure she overlooks the fact that you're a scarer because she loves you too."

"Yeah, maybe so." Randall said. He lifted up his right hand to scratch the right side of his head and realized something.

"Ah crap." He said.

"What?"

"My glasses, I left them on the desk. Fungus, I have to go get them, but I'll talk to you later. See you tomorrow."

Randall ran back to the floor.

"See you tomorrow too, sir!" Fungus called after him.

* * *

Randall entered Scare Floor F and walked over to the desk he and Fungus shared. He saw that his glasses were still there. He sighed with relief. He was afraid that someone had seen them and thrown them away or put them into lost and found.

Randall put his glasses back on, blinked a few times, and smiled. He turned around and he stopped where he was. There was a door in the door station in front of him. Randall looked around.

"Hello? Anybody? There's a door here."

The floor was deserted except for him.

Randall walked up to the door and examined it. It was blue with words scribbled all over it. Randall saw that the light on the door was lit. It was on.

Randall opened the door and poked his head into the bedroom.

"Hello? Anybody scaring in here?"

The bedroom looked deserted. Randall closed the door. He stood in front of the door and pondered why it was here if no one was using it. Then Randall froze. He felt like someone, or something, was touching his tail.

"Fascinating."

Randall heard a small voice. He turned his head back and saw a kid, a human kid. A boy, to be precise. He looked to be about six-years old. He had brown hair with three strands of it sticking up, looking like Randall's fronds, and blue eyes. He wore a blue sweater over a white collared shirt with long white sleeves, tan-brown pants, white socks, and brown shoes. He was feeling Randall's tail with his hands.

The boy looked up and saw that Randall was looking at him. A timid smile appeared on the boy's face and he slowly raised his right hand up. He appeared to be shy. When he spoke, his voice had a British accent.

"Hello."

"Ahhhhhh!" Randall screamed and he jumped. He backed up and bumped into the door, blending in with it. The boy stared at Randall with fascination and saw that the lizard's body now had the color of the blue door.

"I don't believe it." The boy said with a smile. "How fascinating. A reptilian-like creature with multiple limbs that can blend in with his surroundings like a chameleon. Smashing."

Randall changed his color back to purple and quickly picked the boy up with a big pair of pliers. He opened the door and placed the boy back into the room and shut the door. Randall sighed with relief. He turned around and gasped. The boy was standing in front of him.

"What the…?" Randall picked the boy up again, but with his hands this time.

"You can speak?" The boy asked.

Randall entered the room and gently plopped the boy down on the bed.

"Now stay here." Randall said. Then he turned around to leave, but he tripped and fell on the floor. He struggled a few times while trying to get back up on his feet. He finally got back up on his feet but there was a blanket and a couple of drawings struck to his body. He ran out and closed the door.

Randall had his back to the door and was panting. Then he saw that someone was coming from behind the glass doors at the other end of the scare floor. He ran out of the floor and over to the locker room. He got the blanket and drawings off his body and put the objects in someone else's locker. Randall sighed with relief and he walked away. Randall turned right around a corner and a few seconds later he could be heard screaming. He ran in the opposite direction with the boy following after him.

"Wait, come back!" The boy cried out.

Randall got on top of a bench and looked at the boy with a horrified expression.

"Stay back, you hear me! Stay back!" Randall cried.

The boy stood there for a moment and then he looked concerned.

"Wait. Please, don't be scared. I won't hurt you, I promise." The boy sat down on the floor. "See?"

Randall was panting.

The boy looked around. "Wow, what is this place?"

Randall saw a Monsters, Inc. tote bag on top of a row of lockers and grabbed it. He picked up the kid and put him in the bag and zipped it closed.

"Hey, where are you taking me?"

"Home." Randall answered. He left the locker room and entered the scare floor. He came over to the door and was about to open it but he saw that the knob was turning. Someone was about to open the door from the other side. In an instant Randall disappeared and ran over to a wall and placed the bag down by it. He took off his glasses and placed them on top of the bag. Randall got down on all eight of his limbs and came over to the door. A monster stepped out of the door…and it was José!

José made an "hmmm" sound. "Coulda sworn that the kid was in there." He said. Then he pushed the red button on the panel and the door was lifted up. José came over to a cart with scream cans on it. He grabbed hold of the handles and pushed the cart forward; heading for the other side of the floor.

Then the bag over by the wall zipped open and the boy's head popped out; gasping for air. Randall saw this and looked at José, who stopped. Randall was certain that he had heard the noise.

José stood there for a moment. Then he let out a loud burp. He smiled and lightly pounded on his chest with his hand. Then he walked over to the other side of the floor.

Randall looked up and saw the door leave the floor as it was taken to the door vault. He looked down and saw José disappear behind the glass door.

What was Randall going to do now? He can't get the boy back home.

"God, it was hot in there." The boy said. Randall became visible and came over to the bag. He put his glasses back on and pushed the boy's head back inside. Then he zipped the bag shut.

"Hey, let me out!" The boy cried.

Randall panicked. He didn't know what to do next. He just ran out of the floor and out of the factory.

How was he ever going to get this kid home?

* * *

Randall walked down the street. The streetlamps were lighting his way.

_Great, just great. I've made the worst possible mistake a scare employee could make, letting a human kid into the monster world._ Randall thought.

He sat down on the stone steps of an apartment complex and set his work bag and the bag with the boy in it down at his feet. He left the bag the boy was in open a little bit so the boy could breathe. He sat there with his head in his hands and thought about what he should do next. The only way he could get the boy's door was to get the card key for it. But he couldn't get the card key from José, not after witnessing him doing something very suspicious.

"What am I going to do? What am I going to do?" He asked himself over and over again. "If the CDA catch wind of this, I could end up fired and in prison. Or worse, banished."

Banished, banished into the human world. Human kids may be scared of monsters, but monsters were way more scared of human kids, especially adults. Human adults are a lot more dangerous than human kids.

Then a thought came into Randall's head, Mike and Sulley. Maybe they could help him. He didn't know how, but Randall knew that he was probably going to need some help with getting the kid home. Also he needed to let someone know about what he had seen at the factory tonight. So he picked up both bags and continued walking.

* * *

Randall saw Vanessie sitting on the steps of the apartment complex building where she lived. She saw Randall and smiled. Vanessie stood up and both monsters approached each other.

"Hey Randy, right on time." Vanessie said. She and Randall kissed.

"Hi Van, how are you?"

"Fine. Ready for our date?"

"Yeah, but…Van. I have something to tell you." Randall told Vanessie what happened.

"You let a human kid into the monster world?"Vanessie whispered with a worried look on her face. Randall sighed.

"I didn't mean to, I just noticed that a door was in one of the stations and wondered why it was there. I was checking to see if anyone was using it and then, that's when the kid got out. I tried to get him back, but José came out of the door and sent it back to the door vault. I don't know why he was using it so late. Anyway, I'm stuck with the kid until I can find a way to send him back home."

"So you're bringing a human child on our date?" Vanessie asked.

"Yes, I have to tell Mike and Sullivan about what I saw and show them the kid. They won't believe me unless I bring him."

"So why not leave him at your apartment and bring Mike and Sulley there to show them afterwards?"

"I can't. He might trash it of something. Get it contaminated. And I am not leaving him in your apartment either."

Vanessie rolled her eyes. She thought that the belief that human children were toxic was all a bunch of rubbish. "Fine, but be careful Randy. If anyone sees that this kid is here, there'll be a city wide panic."

"I know." Randall said.

Randall and Vanessie walked down a couple blocks and took a left. They walked down a couple more blocks until they came to where Randall lived. Randall placed his work bag and the bag with the boy in it in the back seat of his car. Randall and Vanessie got into the car and Randall drove them to Harryhausen's.

* * *

"There you guys are, we were afraid you weren't going to show." Mike said as Randall and Vanessie approached the table where he, Celia, Sulley, and Sophie were sitting at. Sophie was a monster with blue fur like Sulley. She was his date. Randall and Vanessie both sat down. Everyone ordered and started eating after their food had been brought to their table.

Celia looked at Vanessie and smiled. "Are you looking forward to starting at Monsters, Inc. tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah, certainly." Vanessie replied.

Vanessie would be starting work at Monsters, Inc. tomorrow, but not as a scarer or scare assistant. She would be assisting Celia at the front desk.

"Um Mike? Can I borrow you and Sullivan for a moment?" Randall asked.

Both Mike and Sulley said yes and all three guys left the table. Mike and Sulley followed Randall over to the men's restroom door. They stopped outside the door, which was in a hallway, so they would be out of sight.

"Hey Randall, what's with the bag?" Mike asked.

Randall set the bag down and looked at his two friends. "Okay I have to tell you something. After I left the scare floor, I realized that I had forgotten my glasses on my desk. So I went back and found them, but then I saw this door in one of the stations and José came out of it."

"José?" Mike looked angry. "That cheater! He's trying to boost his numbers."

"That's not all. I, accidently…let a human child out."

Mike and Sulley looked shocked.

"Don't worry, he's in this bag." Randall picked up the bag and looked shocked as well. It felt lighter now.

He opened the bag and saw that the kid was gone.

"Oh no." Randall said. "We've got to find it."

Randall, Mike, and Sulley got back to the dining area and saw that the boy was walking towards the karaoke stage. None of the other monsters saw him. They were too busy eating. The boy got up onto the stage and looked around.

"Oh my god!" Someone cried while pointing at the boy. The boy saw that he had been spotted and once again, a timid smile appeared on his face. He raised up his right hand.

"Hello."

Everyone screamed. Monsters all over the place were running this way and that.

"Was it something I said?" The boy asked looking confused.

"Yes, a human child. Right in this restaurant!" The sushi chef said into a telephone. He had called the CDA. Then Randall came over and picked up the boy and placed him into his work bag without anyone looking.

"Let's get out of here!" He cried.

Mike grabbed hold of Celia's hand and they ran out of the restaurant. Sulley and Sophie did the same. Randall and Vanessie ran out of the restaurant as well, but Randall had forgotten the Monsters, Inc. tote bag back in the restaurant. He and Vanessie ran in the opposite direction of where their friends were going. Within minutes the place was surrounded by the CDA.

Randall and Vanessie got into Randall's car and drove off. The restaurant was then covered by a force field. Randall could see it in the side mirrors of the car. He sighed.

_Great,_ Randall thought. _Another screw-up courtesy of moi._

**I would like to thank Dat Salvadorean Chic AKA Jazz DaFunk on deviantart for giving me permission to include her OC Vanessie in fanfics. Vanessie is from Dat Salvadorean Chic's fanfic Winds of Change. I know that some of you guys were expecting Boo to be in this retold version of Monsters, Inc., but I decided to have a different kid in the story instead. Although, it would've been amusing to have Randall and Boo bond. Hope you liked it. In the next chapter, the boy's name will be revealed.**

**~RC**


	3. Chapter 3

Monsters, Inc.: Retold

Chapter 3-Oliver

Randall, Vanessie, and the boy were now in Randall's apartment. The boy was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table; drawing pictures on pieces of paper using crayons. Vanessie sat down on the floor next to him and watched him draw. Randall was pacing back and forth.

"God I am such an idiot." He said.

Vanessie looked up. "Randall, you are not an idiot."

"Yes I am. First I let a human kid into the monster world, then he gets spotted, and now the city is in panic. And to top it all off, the CDA is looking for the kid."

Just then there was knocking on Randall's door. Randall approached the door cautiously and looked through the peep hole on the door. Randall sighed with relief. It was only Mike and Sulley. He opened the door and let them both in.

"I'm so sorry guys, how are…?"

"Celia and Sophie are fine." Mike answered. "They were a little spooked, but we calmed them down and now they're okay. Sull and I drove them back to their apartments."

Mike saw that the boy was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table. Vanessie started to stroke the kid's hair in a motherly fashion. The boy felt this and looked up at her.

"My mother strokes my hair like that." The boy said smiling. Vanessie smiled back.

"Vanessie, don't touch the kid, he's toxic!" Mike said urgently. Vanessie looked at him.

"Oh Mike, all that stuff about human kids being toxic is garbage." She said.

"No it is not." Mike said.

"Mike, I think she's right." Randall said.

Mike turned to him.

Randall pointed down at the boy "He touched my tail earlier. I mean, if that kid was toxic, then I should be dead right now."

Mike said nothing. He thought that Randall and Vanessie had a point there.

Vanessie looked down at the table and smiled. "Aww, how cute."

"What is it?" Randall asked.

"Would you mind holding it up for him to see?" Vanessie said softly to the boy. He nodded and held up the piece of paper Vanessie had seen. It was a drawing of him and Randall standing side by side holding hands.

"That's…a pretty good drawing." Randall said. It was really was pretty good.

"Randy, what are we going to do? How are we going to send the kid back?" Mike asked.

Randall closed his eyes and sighed. "There is no 'we,' Mike. I'm going to get the kid home myself."

"What?" Mike said.

"You guys almost got in trouble because I brought the kid into the restaurant. This is my mess, so I'm going to clean it up myself."

Mike and Sulley both looked concerned.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Tomorrow I'll bring the kid back into the factory, find a way to get his door, and send him back home. You guys just, carry on with tomorrow like you normally do every day at work."

Mike and Sulley looked at each other for a moment. They nodded at each other and looked back at Randall.

"Okay but if you need help, just let us know and we'll be there." Mike said with a smile.

"Alright." Randall said.

With that, Mike and Sulley left. Vanessie stood up.

"Randy, you can't do this all by yourself. Let me help you. Tomorrow is my first day working at Monsters, Inc. after all."

"Van, I can't let you do that. If I get caught, I don't want you to end up being punished for my mistake."

Then Vanessie walked up to Randall and put her hand on his shoulder. Randall looked at the hand and then at Vanessie's face. It looked calm and sincere, but also serious.

"Randy, I'm helping." She said. Randall knew now that it was futile to convince Vanessie otherwise. Once she made up her mind on something, there was no talking her out of it.

"Okay, but we have to careful." The lizard said.

Randall walked Vanessie over to the door and opened it for her.

"Van?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell me, why did you take the job at Monsters, Inc.? You said that you hate scaring."

Vanessie stood there for a moment, temporarily at a loss for words. Then she finally spoke up.

"I need the money. I love drawing art portraits of people at the Hidden City café, but the job doesn't help pay completely for food and rent."

All was silent for several seconds.

"I'll come by here tomorrow and we'll head to the factory together, okay?" Vanessie smiled.

"Okay."

"Sorry about tonight."

"It's fine."

Randall and Vanessie looked each other in the eyes. Vanessie smiled.

"Goodnight, Randy." Vanessie said.

"Goodnight, Van." Randall said smiling.

"Goodnight, sweetie." Vanessie said to the boy. A shy look appeared on the boy's face again and he lifted up his right hand. He waved good-bye to her.

Randall and Vanessie kissed and then Vanessie left.

Randall closed the door and looked at the boy. "Okay squirt, time for bed."

"Where will I sleep?" The boy asked shyly.

"Come with me." Randall said. The boy picked up all his drawings and followed Randall into his bedroom. Inside the room were a bed and a small nightstand on the right of it. A small lamp rested on the nightstand. The lizard guided the boy over to the bed. It had purple covers and a purple blanket.

"You can have my bed for the night." The boy looked up at him. "It's okay, I don't mind. Couch's just as comfy."

The boy undid his shoes and got into Randall's bed. Randall brought the covers up to the boy's chest and started to leave.

"Don't go!" The boy cried out. He hadn't spoken since back at the restaurant.

Randall turned back. "What?"

The boy pointed at Randall's closet.

Randall looked at the closet and back at the boy.

"It's just a closet, will you go to sleep?"

The boy looked through the drawings that he had on the bed and held one up. It was of an insect-looking monster.

"Hey that looks just like…José?"

Randall paused for a moment. "Is José your monster?"

The boy nodded.

Randall sighed and walked over to the closet. "You think he's gonna come out of the closet and scare you, huh?"

The boy held the covers of the bed up to his face.

"Oh boy, how do I explain this? It's empty, see?"

Randall opened the closet and the boy held the covers over his face. After a few seconds passed, he put the covers down and saw that Randall was right. There was nothing in there, except for a few boxes on the floor and some scarfs Randall wore in the winter-time hanging on the rod inside.

"Don't worry I'm not going to scare you. I'm off duty." Randall said.

The boy still looked uncertain.

"Alright fine, I'll sleep in this room with you tonight. Make sure nothing comes out of the closet to scare you." Randall got out a blanket, a pillow, and a mat from the closet. He set the mat down in front of the bed, which was facing the closet. He set both the blanket and pillow down on it. Then he walked over to a chair in the corner and sat down.

"How about I sit here until you fall asleep?"

The boy stared at him.

"Go on, go to sleep."

"I'm can't." The boy said.

Randall sighed. "What do you want kid, a bedtime story? I don't have any material you'd be interested in listening to."

"How about we just talk?" The boy suggested.

"Talk?" Randall asked.

The boy nodded.

"What do you want to talk about?" Randall asked. It was still so hard for him to believe that all of this was happening. And here he is, having a conversation with the very boy the CDA and all of Monstropolis were looking for.

"Why were all those monsters scared of me back at the restaurant?" The boy asked.

"Well," Randall couldn't help but chuckle a little. "You're gonna think this sounds ridiculous, but us monsters think that you human kids are toxic."

"Toxic?" Then the boy smiled. "That is ridiculous. Human kids aren't toxic. Now dendrobatid, those are toxic."

"What?"

"Dendrobatid, Poison dart frogs. Located in Central and South America." The boy explained.

"You're quite the brainiac, aren't you?" Randall smirked.

The boy blushed. "Yeah, I know a lot of stuff."

A moment of silence passed. Then the boy spoke up.

"So that's why you were scared when you first saw me, because you thought I was toxic?"

"Well yeah, pretty much. But now," Randall gave a little smile. "Now, I don't feel so scared anymore. You're alright, kid." He meant it too.

"Oh good, I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable with me staying here if you were scared."

"So, you aren't scared of me?" Randall asked. He didn't know why he had asked that. It just came out of nowhere.

"No, not at all. I find you fascinating, not scary."

_Not scary?_ Randall thought. How could this boy not be scared of him? He was a tall reptilian monster with multiple limbs and sharp teeth.

"You find me fascinating?" Randall asked.

The boy nodded. "Why yes, of course. It's not every day that I meet a talking reptilian creature. This is so cool. For years people have sent out probes into outer space just to find out if there was any life out there. Never did we imagine that there was another world behind our closets." The boy was really fascinated of the monster world.

The boy realized something and smiled. "Where are my manners?" He held out his hand.

"My name's Oliver."

Randall looked at the outstretched hand for a moment. Then he smiled. The lizard got up and came over to Oliver. He shook hands with him.

"My name's Randall, Randall Boggs."

"Randall Boggs?' Then the boy smiled. "What a coincidence, my last name's Boggs as well."

"So your name's Oliver Boggs?" Randall asked.

"It most certainly is." Oliver Boggs happily replied.

Randall smiled. "It's a nice name." He said. Then Randall turned around and walked over to the door. He turned back and looked at Oliver.

"I just have to go get something from the kitchen. I'll be back in a few moments."

Oliver nodded.

Randall opened the door, entered the living room, and closed the door behind him.

* * *

Randall took a glass cup out of the cupboard and poured some milk into it. Then he put the milk back into the fridge and put the cup in the microwave. He set the time and watched the cup rotate inside the microwave. After he heard beeping, Randall took the cup out and closed the microwave door.

He walked over to the bedroom door and heard Oliver sing from inside the room. Randall opened the door a little bit without making a sound. He saw that Oliver was sitting on the left side of the bed with his feet hanging out. The window was open and a slight breeze of wind blew in. It blew in through the curtains. Oliver sang as he looked out the window.

"I can't fight this feeling any longer,

And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow.

What started out as friendship, has grown stronger.

I only wish I had the strength to let it show.

I tell myself that I can't hold out forever

I said there is no reason for my fear

'Cause I feel so secure when we're together

You give my life direction, you make everything so clear.

And even as I wander, I'm keeping you in sight.

You're a candle in the window on a cold, dark winter's night.

And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might.

And I can't fight this feeling anymore.

I've forgotten what I started fighting for.

It's time to bring this ship into the shore,

And throw away the oars, forever.

'Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore.

I've forgotten what I started fighting for.

And if I have to crawl upon the floor,

Come crashing through your door,

Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore."

Randall smiled. He had to admit that the boy sang really well. Then he entered the room. Oliver turned around and saw Randall.

"I'm sorry, I was just singing to myself. I like to sing to myself when I'm alone." Oliver explained.

"It sounded very nice."

"Really?"

"Really." Randall handed Oliver the cup. "Here, a glass of warm milk. It'll help you get to sleep."

Oliver took a few sips from the glass and he and Randall chatted some more. A few moments later Oliver was starting to feel sleepy. He set the cup down on the nightstand. Then he rested his head down on the pillow and closed his eyes.

Randall was sitting back in his chair. He had his legs crossed and was moving his right foot up and down. Then Oliver spoke up.

"Hey Randall, who were those monsters that came here. The small green one and the big blue one?"

"They're Mike Wazowski and James Sullivan. Good friends of mine." Randall smiled.

"And the lady who left afterwards?"

"Her name's Vanessie. She's my girlfriend."

Oliver smiled. "I like her, she's nice."

"You can't have her." Randall smirked.

Oliver quickly sat up in bed. "Oh no, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that I like her because she's nice. Not in a romantic way, more of in a friendly way. I don't want to take her away from you." He said urgently.

Randall chuckled. "I was just joking, kid. Lighten up."

"Oh, right, just a joke." The boy said looking a little both relieved and shy. Then he yawned.

Randall yawned too. "Yeah, I guess I better hit the sack too." Randall got up and walked over to the mat he set up in front of the bed earlier. He laid himself down on it and covered himself with the blanket. He took off his glasses and placed them next to the pillow. Then he rested his head on the pillow. Oliver rested his head on his pillow as well. A couple moments later, Oliver spoke up again.

"Randall?"

"Yeah?"

Oliver yawned. "Thanks, for taking me in."

"You're welcome kid. Don't worry, Vanessie and I'll get you home tomorrow. That's a promise." The lizard said with a smile.

"Thanks. Goodnight, Randall."

Another couple of moments passed. Randall sat up and looked at Oliver. The boy was lying on his left side. He was asleep.

Randall smiled. "Goodnight, Oliver." He said softly.

Randall laid himself back down on the mat. Within moments, he too was sound asleep.

**So what do you guys think of my OC Oliver Boggs? Interesting character, ain't he? Drawings of Vanessie can be seen in Dat Salvadorean Chic's deviantart account, under the name Jazz DaFunk. Just click on her gallery and type in Vanessie in the search option. That way you know what she looks like. The Vanessie I included in this fic has two arms and two legs, she isn't the Vanessie who has two sets of arms and two sets of legs and has wings. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Do review. Can't Fight this Feeling song belongs to REO Speedwagon. Every time I see the opening to Monsters, Inc., when it shows wind blowing into a kid's bedroom, I think of this line from the song: And even as I wander, I'm keeping you in sight. You're a candle in the window on a cold, dark winter's night.**

**It's a great song. It really is.**

**~RC**


	4. Chapter 4

Monsters, Inc.: Retold

Chapter 4-Not So Different

The next morning Randall and Oliver were awakened by Randall's alarm clock. They both got up and went into the kitchen. Randall didn't feel like cooking so he fixed up a couple bowls of cereal for him and Oliver. They sat down at the kitchen table and ate.

"Now what we're gonna do is sneak you back into the factory, Vanessie and I." Randall said as he and Oliver had breakfast. "Then we'll get the card key for your door and get you back home."

"I don't understand, why do I have to be sneaked in?"

"Because the CDA, the Child Detection Agency, is looking for you. If we get caught, they'll take you away. And Vanessie and I will be banished into the human world."

Oliver looked worried. "I don't want that to happen to you guys." He said.

"Don't worry, it won't happen. Vanessie and I won't get banished. And you'll get home safe and sound." Randall said.

Then there was knocking on the door. Randall turned his head back and looked at the door.

"Oliver, hide." Oliver did as he was told and hid in the food cupboard.

Randall approached the door and looked through the peep hole. He sighed with relief when he saw that it was just Vanessa and not the CDA. Randall opened the door and let Vanessie in.

"Morning Randy."

"Morning, Van."

Randall shut the door and turned around. "It's okay, Oliver. It's only Vanessie."

Oliver got out of the food cupboard.

"Oliver?" Vanessie asked.

"That's his name, Oliver Boggs. He told me his name just last night."

"Oliver Boggs?" Vanessie smiled. "How cute, you two have the same last name."

"Good morning Vanessie." Oliver smiled.

"Good morning, Oliver." Vanessie said with a smile. Then she turned back to Randall while Oliver returned to eating his cereal.

"So, how're we gonna sneak Oliver back into the factory?" She asked.

Randall took a look at his purple sofa and then at a lamp on the table next to it. He got an idea. Randall and Vanessie made a disguise for Oliver so he would look like a monster child. Using the lamp, a mop, and some fabric furnishings from the sofa, Randall and Vanessie had successfully made Oliver a costume that would make him look like a monster.

Oliver put the costume on and smiled. "I like it, it feels like it's Halloween."

Randall, Vanessie, and Oliver then left Randall's apartment together and walked to Monsters, Inc. They all walked with Oliver between Randall and Vanessie. Walking in between Randall and Vanessie reminded Oliver of the time his parents walked with him to his first day of school. His parents. Just thinking about them made the boy miss them immensely. He was grateful that they were both away from home, as he had told Randall last night; otherwise they would be worried sick about where their son was.

While they were walking, Oliver took note of the other monsters he saw. He saw a male monster on the other side of the street tip his hat to a lady monster that was walking in the opposite direction. He saw young kids playing games out on the sidewalks. He even saw monsters standing in front of stores and cafés while having conversations with others. Oliver smiled, seeing that monsters acted just like people.

The three finally made it to Monsters, Inc. and were approaching the front doors.

"Wow, it looks so big and impressive." Oliver beamed.

"You think this could work?" Vanessa asked Randall.

"Yeah, as long as we're careful, everything will be just fine."

Randall opened the door and they all stepped inside…only to find that the company was swarming with CDA officers!

There were CDA officers everywhere. They were checking the factory, looking for Oliver. Randall spotted a few CDA officers talking to Mr. Waternoose and Jay Sanders, an orange-skinned four tentacle-arm monster with slug-like eyes. He was Waternoose's personal assistant. One of the officers held something up to Waternoose.

"This was recovered at the scene." The officer was holding a Monsters, Inc. tote bag, the one Randall had brought Oliver in to Harryhausen's.

The lizard's eyes practically popped out of his sockets.

_Damnit, I'm such an idiot! How could've I forgotten it at the restaurant?_ Randall thought.

"Okay Oliver, don't panic. Everything's…Oliver?" Randall saw that Oliver was no longer by his side and frantically looked everywhere for the kid. Then he spotted him. Oliver was walking up to Waternoose.

"Oliver." Randall whispered. Then he followed after the kid.

"Gentlemen, safety is our number one concern." Mr. Waternoose said to the CDA officers. Oliver walked up to Mr. Waternoose and touched one of his crab legs.

Mr. Waternoose felt this and turned around and saw Oliver.

"Oh, hello. Where did you come from? "He said smiling.

"Um, hello sir." Oliver replied shyly and calmly.

"Mr. Waternoose!" Randall called out as he and Vanessa came over. Mr. Waternoose smiled.

"Ah Randall, is this one yours?"

"Actually he's my cousin's son, sir."

"Well what is he doing here?"

"Because, because…" Randall couldn't think of anything to say. "It's…"

"Take your relative to work day!" Vanessie said holding up both her hands in a pizazz kind of way.

"Take your relative to work day? Hump, I must've missed the memo." Waternoose looked at Randall and smiled.

"Alright Randall. Just make sure to come by the simulator room after lunch and give that scare demonstration we talked about."

At first Randall didn't know what Waternoose was talking about. But then he remembered that he had agreed to give a scare demonstration for some recruits today. "Oh yeah, that. Sure. I'll come by after lunch sir."

"Excellent!" Waternoose said. Then he saw Vanessie. "And you are?"

"Vanessa Loch, I'm assisting Celia at the front desk today."

Waternoose smiled and shook her hand. "Ah yes, miss Loch. Now I remember you. Allow me to personally welcome you to the Monsters, Inc. family."

Vanessie smiled. "Thank you, sir."

Then one of the CDA officers tapped Waternoose on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow.

"Yes, yes. I'm coming." He said to the officer and then looked at Randall. "I'll see you this afternoon Randall, assuming that these gentlemen haven't shut us down." Then Waternoose, Jay Sanders, and the CDA officers walked away. Randall sighed.

"That was close." He said. Then he looked down sternly at Oliver. "Why did you wander off like that?" He demanded.

Oliver looked guilty. "I'm sorry, but when I saw that crab-like monster, I just got fascinated. I get fascinated by strange things very easily. I wanted to see how his legs felt."

Randall sighed again and looked at Oliver. The lizard wasn't mad anymore.

"Okay, but don't do that again. You nearly gave me a heart attack." Then Randall, Vanessie, and Oliver walked over to the men's locker room.

* * *

They arrived in front of the men's locker room. Randall turned to Vanessie and pointed at Oliver. "Alright, I'll stay with him in the men's locker room, keep an eye on him. You go to Roz and get Oliver's card key and come back here. Then we'll head over to the scare floor I work on, get his door, and get him back home."

Vanessie nodded in agreement. "Sounds good, I'll go get it." Vanessie turned to walk away but Randall touched her arm.

"And Van?"

Vanessie turned back and looked at him.

Randall smiled. "Thanks for helping me."

Vanessie smiled back. "You're welcome." She said.

Randall released her arm and Vanessie walked away.

Randall turned to Oliver and saw that he was doing some kind of dance.

"Excuse me Mr. Randall, but where are the lavatories?"

* * *

Randall stood outside the stall Oliver was using. He looked around the washroom to pass the time. Then Oliver spoke.

"So this place, Monsters, Inc., what does it do exactly? You say that you work here, but what is your job?"

"My job?" Randall asked. "Well, I'm a scarer?"

"What's a scarer?" Oliver asked.

So Randall explained to the boy that Monsters Inc. was a scare company, a factory that collects screams from human children. It has monsters called scarers who enter human kid's bedrooms to scare them and collect their screams. The screams are collected in cans that hold the screams and the collected screams are used to power the city.

He also told Oliver about how monsters use door technology to enter kid's bedrooms, the jobs of scare assistants, and about the scream shortage.

"It's very serious. If something isn't done, the whole city could end up without power." Randall said.

There was silence for a minute before Oliver spoke up again.

"I understand that monsters need energy to power their world, and I am fascinated by such technology, but I have to question if it is necessary to acquire power from human children's screams?"

"Well, we can't do that with adults. They're more dangerous than kids, especially when they get scared. No offense to you and other humans." Randall said.

"That's not what I'm saying. Please hear me out. What I'm saying is, is it really necessary to scare human children in order to power your world? There must be some other way to power your world without scaring kids, especially with the risk scaring carries?"

"What do you mean?" Randall asked.

"How do you know that you're not traumatizing the children you scare? And as a result, making them scared of the world?"

Randall put his finger up to his lips and thought. Could what Oliver be saying be true? Had he and the other scarers been traumatizing the kids they scared. But he immediately dismissed the thought. He didn't want to believe that the profession he loved so much involved such a thing.

Monsters were just scaring kids so their world could have power. It wasn't wrong, was it?

Then Randall heard Oliver flush the toilet and Oliver came out of the stall. He wasn't wearing his disguise. He left it in the stall so he could wash his hands.

Oliver walked over to the sink and Randall picked him up so the boy could wash his hands. Oliver washed his hands and Randall set him back down. Randall took a paper towel and handed it down to Oliver. Oliver used it to dry his hands and threw it away in a trash can.

Oliver looked up at Randall and saw that the lizard was staring at him.

"What?"

"Look Oliver, I just want you to know that I'm not bad because I'm a scarer. I'm actually a nice monster, who would never do anything to hurt you."

"I know. You're nice to me." Oliver smiled. "And I think you're pretty cool. Being a talking lizard that can turn invisible."

"Cool?" Randall said. Then he smiled. He liked that this boy considered him to be cool.

"Thanks. You're cool too."

Oliver's smile disappeared. "How am I cool?"

"Because you know a lot for a six-year old. What could be cooler than that?"

Oliver held his hands together, looked down at the floor, and away from Randall. "But I'm bullied at my school. I can't be cool."

Randall looked concerned. "You're bullied?"

"Yeah. By the other kids at my school. They bully me because of me being smart." Oliver looked up at him. "You don't know this, but I wear glasses too."

"You do?"

"Yeah, but not as often as I used to. Only when I read in private. I can see things well a few feet away without them though."

"How come you don't wear them anymore?"

"Because glasses are like a physical magnet for teasing, just how intelligence is a mental magnet. I just don't wear them so the other kids will hopefully stop and leave me alone. "

Randall stood there and looked at Oliver, realizing that Oliver was just like him when he was young. A lonely child made an outcast by others for being smart.

In his mind, Randall could hear all the teasing remarks that were made at him when he was a kid. He remembered coming home from school crying. Confused. Wondering why kids were so cruel to him when all he wanted was to fit in. When all he wanted was a friend.

Randall came over to Oliver and got down on his knees. Then he hugged the boy.

"You're not alone. I've had my fair share of bullies as well. I know how it hurts." He said softly.

Oliver stood there for a moment and smiled. "Thanks, Randall. You know, we're not so different, us humans and monsters."

Randall broke away from Oliver and looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"When you think about it, despite their outward appearances, monsters and humans aren't so different."

"How do you figure that?" Randall sat down on the floor in front of Oliver.

"Well. Monsters live in cities just like people. They greet each other in the mornings, have conversations with each other, and have jobs. Plus, monsters have family and friends around with them."

Then Oliver looked at Randall's hand. "May I have your first right hand please?"

Randall did as he was asked and Oliver looked at the palm of Randall's hand.

"Despite the three fingers, it kinda looks like a human hand. See?" Oliver held his right hand next to Randall's and the lizard saw that Oliver was right. Their palms did almost look alike. Randall looked at Oliver and smiled. Oliver smiled back.

But then they heard a voice. It was José's.

"I told you that I don't know anything!" José cried.

Randall got up. He grabbed Oliver's arm and guided him over to the stall the boy just used.

"Stay in here and keep the door shut." Randall said.

Oliver nodded and he entered the stall and shut the door, but not before Randall handed him his glasses. Then Randall turned invisible and climbed up the wall. He saw José enter the washroom and walk over to the sink to wash his face. Then Chip, José's assistant, came in. José dried his face off and saw his assistant.

"José, thank goodness. What're we gonna do about the..?"

Then José placed his hand over Chip's mouth and shushed him. Then José came over to a stall and slammed the door open. He was checking to see if anyone was listening in on him and Chip. Then he moved on from stall to stall until he came to the one Oliver was in.

Randall panicked. Jose was open to slam open Oliver's stall when Chip ran up to him holding a newspaper. The headline read "CHILD BREACH! HUMAN BOY SPOTTED AT HARRYHAUSEN'S LAST NIGHT!" There was even a photo of Oliver on the front page.

"Here it is! The child you were after!"

"Will you shut up?! Don't you think I'm aware of that? I was up all night searching for the little brat!"

"Look at the photo. That has to be the boy. He escaped!" Chip cried.

"Until we know for sure that it's him, we'll act like nothing happened. You get the machine ready and I'll deal with finding the kid."

Randall was curious. What were they talking about a machine?

José growled. "And when I find that kid and whoever let it out, THEY'RE BOTH DEAD!" José slammed his fist into the stall door, revealing Oliver for a split-second before the door shut back into place. Fortunately neither monster saw him.

José looked at Chip. "C'mon, let's go." Then they both left the locker room.

Randall became visible and climbed back down to the floor. He came over to the stall Oliver was in and opened the door. Oliver was now crouching on the floor.

"Oliver, it's okay. They're gone."

Oliver turned around and Randall saw how scared the boy looked. Then Oliver came over to Randall and held onto him. Randall could feel Oliver's body shaking in fear.

_Poor kid._ Randall thought. Then he slowly wrapped his arms around the boy.

"Shhh…Shh shh shh…" Randall hushed Oliver as he stroked the back of the boy's head.

"Don't worry. Vanessie and I'll get you home. And that jerk José won't ever try to hurt you again." He said softly.

But how was he going to make sure that José wouldn't hurt Oliver. After sending Oliver home, he could put the door through the door shredder and say that it was a dead door, but then he wouldn't be able to see Oliver again. And Oliver wouldn't be able to see him again either. Randall had really come to care about the boy a lot. And Oliver felt the same way about the lizard.

Randall just sat there holding onto Oliver. He picked the boy up and held him. Then he rocked them both back and forth, hoping that it would calm the boy down.

A few minutes later, Oliver did calm down. Then he and Randall got out of the stall and sat down on a bench. They sat there and waited for Vanessie to return with Oliver's card key for his door.

**And done! Sorry that it took so long, had a case of writer's block. The chapter was originally titled "Return to Monsters, Inc.", but I thought that "Not So Different" sounded like a better title. Hopefully it won't take me so long with the next chapter.**

**~RC**


	5. Chapter 5

Monsters, Inc.: Retold

Chapter 5-Kidnapped

Vanessie approached Roz and stood in front of the window of her office. Roz was a slug-like monster who wore a red shirt and glasses. She had white hair pointing up and a mole under her lip.

Vanessie gave her best smile and spoke to Roz.

"Excuse, Ms. Roz?"

"Yes?" Roz spoke in a bored voice. She looked like she'd rather be working somewhere else.

"Hi, my name's Vanessie Loch. I work with Celia at the front desk; well actually it's my first day. Anyway, I was wondering if I could have the card key for a child named Oliver Boggs? He's British and has brown hair and blue eyes."

Roz looked at Vanessie. "Why do you want the card key for this child?" She asked.

"Mr. Waternoose asked me to come get it from you. Someone reported to him that there was a glitch with the key and he wanted to check it out himself."

Roz stared at Vanessie for so long that Vanessie thought the slug was trying to set the loch on fire with her mind.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid it's out of the question."

"What?" Vanessie asked.

"Only scare assistants are allowed to pick up door keys with the proper paperwork, proving that their scarer is suitable to scare the child. And you are not a scare assistant. Plus, may I remind you that this is your first day here? So don't go thinking that you have a right to such information now that you're working here. Now go back to the front desk where you belong."

"But."

"This office is now closed. Have a nice day." Then Roz closed the window to her office.

Vanessie stood there looking dumbfounded. She couldn't believe what just happened. She wanted to call Roz a bitch, but she suppressed that urge and sighed. She felt that she had failed to get Oliver's door key.

But Vanessie had a feeling that it was probably with José, the monster Randall told her about last night.

She turned to walk away, but she accidentally bumped into somebody.

"Hey watch it!" The monster said. It was an insect-like monster with four arms and four eyes.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry sir." Vanessie said.

The monster looked at her annoyingly. "Who are you anyway?"

Vanessie composed herself and held out her right hand.

"Hello, I'm Vanessa Loch; I assist Celia at the front desk. Today's my first day at Monster's Inc."

"Oh so you're new here, huh? Name's José Rodriguez." He said shaking her hand.

Vanessie realized that this must be the José who had Oliver's door key, and the José Randall told her about.

"Wait a minute, aren't you Boggs' girlfriend, this Vanessie he keeps talking about?" José asked.

"Yeah."

Jose smiled. "You're a very sexy girl you know that? You mind telling me why a girl like you is with a guy like Boggs?"

Vanessie stared coldly at José. She was already beginning to hate him, and saw why Randall hated him so much too.

"And what's wrong with Randy?"

"What's wrong with him? Oh God it'd take me all day to tell you. For starters, he ain't got much muscle on him. Just a skinny tall lizard. Wouldn't you rather be with a hunk like me?" José said pumping his right arm.

Vanessie didn't know whether to puke or just punch José in the face.

All her life there had always been guys flirting with her while showing off how strong they were, especially when she used to work at the Hidden City Café full time. And offering their words of "affection" thinking that she'd fall head over heels for them. But she hated that.

Randall never did that when he first asked her out. In fact he never spoke to her like the guys who flirted with her did. He always talked to Vanessie like she was a normal person. Deep down, Vanessie felt that Randall was in love with her person and not just her looks. And he always acted like a gentleman around her. And Vanessie loved it. One of the reasons why she loved Randall was that he never acted like a jock or pretended to be someone he wasn't. She loved him so much for being himself, just as he loved her for being herself.

Vanessie looked sternly at José. "I don't care how skinny he is. He's way better looking than you, and smarter."

"What?" José growled.

"Yeah, and he's more of a gentleman than you'll ever be. Good day."

Vanessie held her head up and walked away.

"Good day, Vanessie."

Vanessie turned around. "It's Vanessa. Only my friends can call me Vanessie."

Jose rolled his eyes. "Whatever floats your boat, Vanessie."

Vanessie turned sharply around and walked away, suppressing another urge; an urge to deck José.

Jose watched her leave and shook his head. "Chicks."

Then he looked at the front page of the paper he was holding. It had a photo of Oliver. He looked at the photo closely and saw something. He turned the paper upside down and saw something blue with red hair in the photo. It was Vanessie. He looked up.

"She was there." He snarled.

* * *

Randall and Oliver sat together on a bench in the men's locker room. They were waiting for Vanessie to return.

Oliver had his disguise back on and Randall had placed his glasses into his locker. He didn't want to forget them on his and Fungus' desk again. And if he did forget them in his locker, at least they'd be somewhere safe.

Just then Mike and Sulley entered the locker room. They went over to their lockers and got ready to start work. Sulley headed for the scare floor, but Mike came over to Randall. He looked at who was sitting next to the reptile, and saw upon closer examination that it was Oliver. No one else was around so it was safe for Mike and Randall to talk.

"So you still have the kid?" Mike asked.

"Well, yeah. I don't have the card key for his door, so Vanessie's gone to get it."

"You don't need a card key. Just bring the kid over to the scare floor, look for a door already in a station, and put the kid in it. Simple as that."

Randall looked annoyed. "I'm not going to just put him in a random door. How would he be able to get home?"

"I'm sure he'll find a way back to his home."

"I'm going to put Oliver back in his door." Randall said sternly to Mike. He was standing up and practically glaring at the one-eyed monster.

"Oh for goodness's sake Randy! Put that thing back where it came from or so help me…!"

Mike stopped because he saw that Randall was no longer looking at him, but rather up above him. Mike turned around and saw that Randall was looking at two other monsters that had just entered the locker room.

Mike thought of an explanation real quick.

"Oh hey, Randall and I were just practicing a scene for the upcoming company play 'Put that Thing Back Where It came from or so Help Me'." Mike explained.

The two workers just stood there and stared at Mike.

"It's a musical."

Then Mike started to dance and Randall lightly marched in place.

"Put that thing back where it came from or so help me," Mike sang.

"Bum, bum, bum, bum." Randall said while marching in place and moving his arms up and down.

"Get that thing away from me you guys."

"Bum, bum, bum, bum."

"Put that thing back from where it came from, or I'll poke myself in the eye."

Mike and Randall finished the song and looked at the workers.

"It's a work in progress, but it's gonna get better." Mike said.

The two workers just looked at Mike and Randall and then walked away.

Randall looked down at Mike.

"Oh great idea, Mike." He said sarcastically. "Next time I'll think of something that makes you look like an idiot."

"Hey, they bought it, didn't they?" Mike asked.

Randall walked back over to Oliver.

Mike closed his eye and sighed. Then he opened his eye and had a look of concern on his face. "Look Randy, I'm just worried that you might get caught with the kid and end up banished. I don't want that to happen to you."

Randall stood where he was before turning back to Mike.

"Don't worry. Van and I'll get the kid home and all of this will blow over. Eventually the CDA will stop looking for him and everything will return to normal."

"I hope so, for your sake and Vanessie's." Mike said with a worried look on his face.

Randall gave him a comforting smile, telling him that he and Vanessie would be fine. Mike smiled too, but he didn't look so sure. Then he left to join Sulley on the scare floor.

* * *

Several minutes after Mike left, Vanessie snuck into the men's locker room.

"So this is what it's like in here." She said to herself. She found Randall and Oliver sitting on a bench. Vanessie came over to them.

Randall saw that Vanessie was approaching and got up. He walked over to her.

"Did you get it?" Randall asked.

Vanessie shook her head. "I'm sorry Randy, but I couldn't. Roz wouldn't let me. Only scare assistants can pick up card keys." Vanessie looked down at the floor. Randall looked concerned and placed his first pair of hands on Vanessie's shoulders.

"Hey, you tried. And I'm very thankful for your help." Randall said trying to lift her spirits.

She looked at him. "But what about Oliver? How are we going to get his door?"

Randall thought for a moment. "Maybe I could ask Mike if he could ask Roz for Oliver's card key. Or maybe José still has it. I could sneak a look at José and Chip's desk during work, to see if it's there."

"But what's Oliver going to do? I can't watch him. I have to help Celia at the front desk." Vanessie said.

"Well I can't watch him either." Randall said. He thought for another moment and spoke.

"Alright, I'll drop him off at the company daycare until we find his door key."

"Daycare!" Oliver cried. He looked insulted, as if Randall had just said that the boy was stupid.

Oliver held his arms down at his side and his body was in a stiff pose. He stamped his right foot down.

"I'll have you know that I'm six-years old and in the first grade!" he said.

Randall came over to the boy and got down on his knees. "It's just until Vanessie and I find your door key. When we find it, which hopefully should be during the first work session, I'll come get you and bring you to your door. The scare floors are empty during lunch, so it'll be the perfect time to do it."

Oliver looked Randall in the eyes and sighed. He supposed that was what should be done.

"Alright, but how are you going to convince the daycare workers that I'm a little kid. I'm too big for daycare."

"I'll tell em you're almost four and you're tall for your size."

Oliver thought for a moment. "I suppose that could work."

Randall looked at Vanessie. "Okay it's settled. When I find his door key, I'll come get him and put him back in his door."

Vanessie nodded. So it was agreed. Vanessie walked towards the entrance to the locker room with Randall and Oliver behind her.

"Randy, I meet that monster you told me about just a few minutes ago, José." Vanesssie said.

"You did, what happened?" Randall looked worried. "Did he say anything? Did he ask about Oliver?"

"No, all that ass did was hit on me." Vanessie looked disgusted saying that last part.

"He hit on you?" The Randall looked angry. "Where did you see that bastard?"

"Randy please. Guys like José hit on me all the time. Remember a few years ago I told you that your former fraternity brother, Johnny Worthington, flirted with me when I used to work full time at the café?"

"Yeah, I felt like finding him and decking him too."

"Randy, guys like José and Worthington can hit on me all they want, but I'll never fall for them. Because I have you. And I love you."

The two monsters and the human child stopped at the double doors to the locker room.

Then Vanessie lean forward and kissed Randall.

"I love you because you're not the macho type, you're you."

Randall smiled and Vanessie smiled back.

Then Vanessie snuck out of the locker room and left for the front desk.

Randall and Oliver headed off for the company daycare.

They were walking down the hall when they heard a voice call out to them

"Hey Randy!"

Randall saw who it was and smiled. It was Don Carlton "Hi guys." He said.

It was the old OK gang from MU, who now worked at Monsters, Inc.: Don, Art, Squishy, and Terry and Terri. They approached Randall and Oliver.

"Hey Randy, how's it going?" Terry asked.

"Oh fine." Randall smiled.

Art looked down at Oliver. "Who's this?" He asked.

"Oliver Boggs, my cousin's son."

Art smiled and held out the palm of his purple hand down to Oliver. "What's up little dude?"

Oliver felt shy at first, but the monster called Art looked very friendly. Oliver smiled and slapped the monster some skin.

Don looked at Randall. "Wish we could chat on old times, but we have to head to Scare Floor G. We're gonna see you at Spencer's alley next Saturday, right? It's bowling night."

"Oh, sure thing." Randall smiled.

The OK gang walked away and Art turned around and walked backwards. "And we have to go out dancing again sometime soon, Randy! You and Vanessie killed it on the dance floor last week."

Then he turned around and started walking forward again.

"Bye!" Oliver called out after them and waved. Randall smiled down at him and they continued walking.

"Hey Randall, who were those monsters?" Oliver asked.

"Friends from college."

"You went to college?" Oliver looked impressed.

"Yeah. Monsters University. I majored in Scaring there." Randall beamed.

"Please tell me some more? I'm curious to know what a monster college is like."

"It's like college from your world, but for monsters." Randall said.

They continued on to their destination while Randall told Oliver more about the school he used to attend.

* * *

Vanessie approached the front desk and greeted Celia.

"Hey, sorry I'm late."

Celia looked up from her desk and smiled. "Oh no, it's okay."

Celia then looked serious. "My God, last night was scary. Can you believe that a human child got into the monster world? How did you think that happened?"

Vanessie did her best not to look worried about it. "No idea."

"Well, the sooner the CDA find that thing the better. It's scary to know that it's out roaming the city somewhere."

Celia took an envelope out from under her desk and handed it to Vanessie. "Could you take this to the financial department?"

"Oh sure." Vanessie took the envelope. Maybe work would calm her. She was really worried that Randall and Oliver could get caught with the CDA roaming around. She walked away and Celia called out to her.

"Hey. Maybe we could have a girl's night out sometime. You know, after this whole child breach thing blows over?"

Vanessie looked back at Celia and smiled. "Sure thing." She called back.

She turned and walked away.

Vanessie found the financial department and delivered the envelope.

She was on her way back to the front desk when suddenly two hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her back around a corner. Then the hands held Vanessie up against a wall and she saw who it was: José.

"Where's the kid?" He demanded.

"Kid? What kid? I don't know what you're talking about." Vanessie shot José an angry look.

"Oh I think you do Vanessie." Jose held up today's newspaper with one of his second pair of hands and pointed at something in the picture with his other second hand. It was her in the corner of the photo. "I think you really do."

Vanessie's expression changed to a look of shock and Jose's suspicion of Vanessie being there at the restaurant was confirmed.

"C'mon, let's take this talk somewhere private."

Then José picked up Vanessie and held her up with his second pair of arms. He held his first right hand over her mouth so she couldn't make a sound. Then he ran down the hall as fast as he could while trying not to be spotted. He didn't want to be seen kidnapping the young loch ness.

**Thanks to Energywitch for some of her suggestions in her last review. And yeah, I decided to include the OK gang in this scene since some people asked me if I could. Put that thing back, what a great improve on Mike's part. Hope you liked the chapter. Please do review. Reviews are appreciated.**

**~RC**


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